filmmaking in the grey zone

Filmmaking in the Grey Zone

I met Ash in his studio, down a narrow alley in the shitamachi neighborhood of Oji-Kamiya. As filmmaking studios go, Ash has embraced the dilapidated bohemian look; a broken shoji, mismatched curtains and light water stains give the place a worn and weary charm. Ash likes it that way. He converted the modest Showa-era residence into a home-base for editing and producing his films, also hosting a rotation of filmmakers who crash on his tatami mats during shoots. It’s far from glamorous, but the walls lined with posters of upcoming festival screenings around the world—Argentina, Germany, Ecuador, Slovenia and many more—keep him motivated.

The wall of laurels is also an impromptu screening calendar for his most recent project, Boys for Sale (2017). The film examines the life of urisen (rent boys) in Shinjuku Nichome, Tokyo’s gay district. The boys themselves, many who identify as straight, narrate the film by discussing their experiences in sex work on camera. After over a decade directing films, Boys for Sale is the first time Ash has handed over the directing reins to someone else, in this case Japanese filmmaker Itako. He’s credited as an executive producer, but he was also actively involved in research and filming. “It’s so unlike any film I’ve done before,” he says, citing Itako’s strong vision for the project.

All the current “rent boys” are interviewed in the sex rooms where they work. In the place of a classic black bar or “mobster silhouette,” the filmmakers decided to disguise the identity of some interviewees using masquerade masks. It brings an elegance and opulence to the subjects, when it would be so easy to strip them of those qualities. The film also frequently switches to animated scenes when depicting graphic moments between the boys and their clients, “We wanted to illustrate what was happening without editorializing it.”

Boys for Sale is not only a departure for Ash stylistically, it has also opened his work up to a new leg of the festival circuit. After their cold submission was selected by Los Angeles’ Outfest—the largest LGBTQ film festival in the world — Boys for Sale has screened at dozens of queer film events across the world. Despite its success, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a Japanese festival date among the posters that frame Ash’s studio. “We have submitted to several festivals in Japan. It has not been accepted. I don’t know the reason why,” Ash admits. The film was even rejected from the Tokyo Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, a decision that hit especially hard considering its success at similar events abroad. Boys for Sale instead found its Japan premiere at a November 26th event for Tokyo AIDS Week. The film, which touches on the shortcomings of Japanese sex education, will be screened in conjunction with a panel on sexual health. “It’s not the Japan premiere we had once envisioned, but as an activist it’s an important event and I think it’s really amazing.”

This is not the first time Ash has had difficulty screening his work domestically. His award-winning film -1287 has never been screened in Japan. “I had a distributor tell me this film should not be screened. You should put it in a box and keep it for yourself,” Ash remembers, exasperated by the memory alone. “Can you imagine, this is one of my kids that I’ve put out into the world and they’re like you should put it in a box and chain it up and never let it see the light of day.”

Even his breakthrough A2-B-C has a troubled history in Japan. “I had to reverse import that. I had to spend a year and a half away from Japan promoting the film to be able to bring that back.” The film’s vocal criticism of government officials and spotlight on the environmental dangers of nuclear energy were no doubt contributors. After he finally secured a Japanese distributor, the company withdrew “unceremoniously,” as Ash puts. They pulled out after learning an individual and a medical clinic featured in the film were associated with the revolutionary communist group Chūkaku-ha. Ash says he’s currently not able to speak in-depth about the issue due to a non-disclosure agreement. In a 2015 press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, however, he noted, “If there’s a communist in the film…it doesn’t negate the fact that there are children in Fukushima whose parents are concerned about their health.” Citing the move as symptomatic of censorship and self-censorship in Japan around Fukushima, Ash published a photo online covering his mouth with “censorship” written on his forearms in English and Japanese. The photo went viral, at least in the virtual circles of Japanese independent film.

Read the full feature story at metropolisjapan.com